Government lands in the Cherokee Strip of Oklahoma, previously leased to cattlemen, are being opened up to homesteaders. All interested must register and stay out of the Strip until a specific date. Canon fire will signal the start of the land rush.

Don Carver is interested. The former range boss of the now closed Box K Ranch has been a drifter most of his life. Things have changed as Don has met and fallen in love with Molly Lassiter, whose family will also be participating in the land rush, and the time seems right to settle down.

Don hopes to stake his claim on the land that houses the Box K ranchhouse which will control the water for the Cherokee Strip. However, Molly’s half-brother Noll and Bill Freel, who also seeks Molly’s hand, have other ideas.

The pair frame Don for violating the rule against anyone entering into the Strip before the event and Don is arrested. With the land rush about to start Don escapes the stockade, enters the race and heads for the ranchhouse.

When he gets there he finds Noll and Bill already there. It looks as though the dreams of Don and Molly will go unrealized.

NOTABLE: Tumbleweeds is said to have influenced the making of 1931’s Oscar-winning Western Cimarron which also depicts the great land rush.

It has been estimated that over 100,000 men and women participated in the land rush.

Tumbleweeds was the last picture for silent western star William S. Hart and is considered by many as his finest role.

The film was unique for the silent era as it portrayed Native Americans as more than just villains, they were Hart’s friends and also included African Americans among the thousands of homesteaders.